Keifer's POV
Jay-jay!
Please answer your damn phone! It just keeps ringing and no one's picking up. When I check her location, it still shows she's here.
"Keifer! I found Rory!" Drew shouted.
We quickly followed him. He opened one of the curtains and there was Rory. He was shirtless and a nurse was stitching a wound on his back.
"Good thing the wound is shallow. But we still stitched it to stop the bleeding," said the nurse as she put a bandage on it.
"Thank you," Rory said.
We waited until the nurse walked away.
"Where's Jay-jay?!" I asked immediately.
"She was just—" He stopped and looked around.
"...She's gone. She was just here earlier."
I looked around again. But there was no one else here in an HVIS uniform. In fact, there were no other high school students here anymore.
⸻
"Jay-jay's really acting weird," Rory suddenly said.
"Huh? What did you say?" Ci-N asked.
"She suddenly started trembling in fear when she saw my blood. She wasn't talking and then she just cried," he explained.
No!
Did it happen again? No, that can't be. What if it really happened again and right now, she's out of her mind?
I was about to leave to look for her again when I heard Rory say a name that made me stop.
"Good thing David came to help us," he said, smiling.
David helped them.
F*ck! No! They can't be together. Did he really think I wouldn't notice? He's up to something.
I ran as fast as I could. I kept calling her phone at the same time. Then, out of nowhere, I heard a very familiar ringtone.
"Secrets" by OneRepublic.
I followed the sound. The faster I ran, the louder it got. I was far from the emergency room now.
The hallway was getting darker and there were no more people passing by.
I stopped right when both the ringtone and my phone stopped.
There, at the corner, she was sitting on the floor, hugging her knees, head down.
I slowly walked toward her. As I got closer, I knelt down. That's when I noticed—she was covered in blood. Her hands too.
No! Please! Don't let it be what I think it is!
"Jay..." I called her.
She slowly lifted her head and looked at me. Then she suddenly burst into tears.
"K-Keifer..." she said and immediately hugged me. I hugged her back.
Oh crap! I thought something happened to her. I thought it happened again.
"You made me worried sick!" I said and kissed her head.
"Keifer... t-there's so much blood," she said, still crying.
I stroked her back and her hair. "Shhh... it's okay. I'm here. Don't cry."
"I-I got so scared... I thought it was happening again."
"Stop crying... Everything is okay now," I said.
But she wouldn't stop. It's hard to stop crying when it's something you can't control. So, I just let her cry like a child.
But I felt relieved when she said she thought it would happen again.
That meant... it didn't happen. But why?
As much as I wanted to ask her, I knew I couldn't.
She can't even explain why it happens to her—how could she explain why it didn't?
Her phone rang.
She was still crying, so I grabbed it from her bag.
Even her bag and things had blood on them.
It was Yuri calling her.
Not this time.
I put the phone on silent without declining the call.
I wouldn't let Yuri have Jay-jay now.
She's mine.
"Keifer..." she called and finally stopped crying. "Rory? How is he?" she asked worriedly.
She sat up and faced me. She looked such a mess—blood on her face and clothes. She was wearing white too.
"He's okay..." I said and forced a smile. I then wiped the tears and blood from her cheeks.
"I-I don't understand," she said.
"Hm?"
"I saw blood... so much blood... but I didn't faint or hurt anyone."
"We'll figure that one out. But right now, you need to clean up and rest," I said and stood up.
I offered my hand to her. She took it and stood up. But before she could take a step, her knees gave out and she nearly collapsed.
Good thing my reflexes were quick. I caught her before she hit the floor.
"Are you okay?" I asked, worried.
"M-my knees are still shaking."
Without hesitation, I carried her bridal style. I felt her jolt in surprise.
"K-Keifer..."
"Shut up and let me be a gentleman," I said with a smirk. Sometimes she just doesn't get that I'm trying to be sweet. She only seems to know how to roast me.
I walked quickly back to the emergency room where everyone was gathered around Rory.
I saw Yuri's expression when he saw me carrying her.
His look—seeing me help the girl he loves and knowing he couldn't do anything about it—was full of envy, jealousy, and frustration.
"What happened to Jay-jay?!" Ci-N asked as she ran toward us.
"Nothing. She just needs to be cleaned up and get some rest."
I laid her down on the bed next to Rory's. Now I could see her clearly—she also had scrapes and bruises on her elbows and knees.
"Ci-N! Get some towels and water!" I ordered. She immediately called a nurse and asked for what I needed.
Yuri came closer and looked at Jay-jay.
"Jay! What happened? Are you hurt?" he asked worriedly.
I wanted to laugh at him. He's being so obvious in front of our classmates.
He's the one who said he didn't want people to know about whatever is going on between them—but now he's practically announcing it.
That damn engagement.
"I-I'm okay... How's Rory?" Jay-jay asked.
Rory, who was just across from her, waved. If we were to compare their condition now? Jay-jay actually looked worse off than Rory.
A nurse came over with the towels and water I asked for.
I took a towel and soaked it in water.
I held Jay-jay's face and wiped off the blood. I couldn't help but look into her eyes.
But she looked away. I understood, especially with Yuri standing right there.
Yuri also took a towel and began wiping the blood off her arms and hands.
Ha! And the competition begins!
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Jay-jay's POV
They look so ridiculous.
If this situation hadn't just happened, I would've smacked both of them already. I can't even tell if they're actually helping me or just showing off.
I'm honestly so confused!
Why didn't the thing happen again like it used to?
While the two of them were busy with me, the others were talking about how the boys from another school ambushed us.
"There were so many of them... and they were after Jay-jay just like the others," Rory explained.
"I'm sure they'll come back," Edrix said.
"It's weird though, why are they only showing up now? Before, we were just walking around and never had problems," Eren said.
Yeah, why now? And why me again? Aren't they tired of this? Because I am.
"It's very simple," Keifer jumped in.
"Ram is weak now, so there's no one to control the gangs in this area."
Ram? The one I beat up before?
"What do you mean by 'control'?" Ci-N asked.
Whenever there's conflict, this one suddenly becomes so interested.
"He used to control them. Now that he's weak, there's no one to keep them in check. They're like wild animals out of their cages," Keifer explained while still wiping my face.
"But why is Jay-jay the target?" Felix asked.
"To get revenge on me," Keifer answered quickly.
We all looked at him, waiting for more.
"They all think that you're my girlfriend," he said to me.
Oh... right!
That's what those guys said during the Christmas party, and again just now.
Where did that rumor even start?
"What are we going to do now?" Yuri asked, stopping for a moment.
"We could watch over Jay-jay to make sure she doesn't get hurt," Blaster suggested.
"That works... but we all have our own responsibilities, so it's hard," Felix replied.
"Whoever's free can do it," Drew said.
"I can! 24/7!" Ci-N said proudly, raising her hand.
"24/7?" Josh asked.
"I live with her, so there's no problem."
My eyes widened. Crap! They didn't know about that.
Everyone froze and looked at Ci-N.
"You live with Jay-jay?" Kit asked.
Ci-N nodded proudly and looked at us. Then suddenly hid behind Felix for some unknown reason.
I looked at the two guys beside me who had stopped wiping.
Oh no. Ci's in trouble!
Keifer and Yuri were now looking at her with such cold eyes. They looked like they were ready to kill a child.
"Kindly explain... why is Ci-N living in your house?" Yuri asked me.
"W-what?"
Why did I suddenly feel nervous?
I looked at Ci-N, silently begging for help—but the jerk was now hiding fully behind Felix.
W-what the hell is happening?!